New in Town
by SinfullySilent
Summary: Ashley Booker has just moved to Beacon Hills and on her first night she has a run in with a giant wolf. Moments from being eaten, a nervous, twitchy stranger comes to her rescue. Soon, Ashley is wrapped up in the mystery of Beacon Hills and can't seem to get away from it. Alternate History after Lydia's party in Ep1. [Plot points followed, minor changes] [Stiles/OC]
1. Chapter 1

Ashley Booker was a lot of things, nervous, shy, paranoid, quiet, but at the moment she was mostly just lost. She turned around, trying to make some sense out of the dark woods that enclosed her on all sides. She hadn't meant to get lost, she hadn't even meant to end up in the dark woods of Beacon Hills, but then, she was new, so it was sort of out of her control.

She combed a few fingers through her dirty blonde hair and took a deep breath. She would be okay, she assured herself. She took a step to her left but her flip-flop covered foot just sunk into a small pile of mud.

"Ugh," she groaned.

It had been her very first evening at her new home that made her flee. She was unpacking in her room, ignoring her mother and father who fought two rooms over, when she had this… feeling. A feeling of overwhelming panic and isolation. Ashley was shy, and at her old place in Florida, it had taken her her whole life just to make one friend and keep her. But now, she had to start over during her sophomore year of high school. Her thoughts were making her queasy and that's when Ashley shuffled into her oldest pair of Old Navy flip flops and climb quietly down the stairs and out of the house.

She had gotten distracted during her wandering, her thoughts stayed on her nerves and how she did not want to start at her new school a day after everyone else. Why did the moving company have to be delayed, why did she have to move on what would have normally been her first day of school? An hour of thinking had gotten Ashley stuck in the woods, where she currently was.

"Okay, I am not going to panic. I'm fine… I'm fine…" Ashley muttered to herself silently as she pulled her mud-covered foot out of the dirt. She shook it off slightly before mentally cursing the wet terrain. She felt a big aching in her chest just thinking about Florida's beaches and dirt. In Florida, there was no mud. Not even during the rainy season. It was all sandy-dirt and dried out blades of grass. She missed that so much.

Ashley knelt over to fold up the edges of her jeans which were slightly damp at the bottom. It was cold, even for nearly September, but she didn't want to compromise the cleanliness of her clothes when the washing machines weren't yet installed at her new house. She folded up the pant bottoms carefully so that they were even, symmetrical. She was on her right leg when she heard a twig snap behind her. She turned quickly, but there was nothing that she could see, so she finished up on her jeans.

Mentally, Ashley was still trying to figure out where she was but retracing her steps was only taking her in circles. Why did she have to wander around at night? Why couldn't she have waited until the morning? She was mad at herself for being so stupid, but she didn't really feel like she was in any immediate danger. She had her cell phone in her back pocket, and 911 was already on speed dial. Ashley was always prepared, always ready for anything. Her mom said it was anxiety, but Ashley considered it necessary for survival as a teenager. The only thing Ashley hadn't prepared was having her phone charged properly. She couldn't use it for a GPS, the battery would die in less than ten minutes and she had definitely been walking for longer than ten minutes. All she had to do was find a way out of the damn woods.

She pushed back a branch on a tree and stepped over the root, maneuvering her way around it carefully. The branch wasn't as bendy as she would've liked and snapped back, cutting her across her cheek. Ashley hissed and raised a hand to the injury. Yes, she was definitely bleeding, but the cut wasn't deep. She ducked under the branch and found herself in a clearing of sorts. She waited for her nerves to subside more now that she wasn't in the confining woods, but it didn't. The hair on her neck started to stand up and she shut her eyes tightly, knowing that something bad was going to happen. Her intuition was rarely wrong because she had spent so much of her life simply observing.

A small growl made her turn. She did so slowly, carefully, but in the end, it probably didn't make a difference. She gulped down a scream, knowing that would make the situation worse. She learned somewhere that you shouldn't startle wild animals, which was exactly what she was looking at…wasn't it? It was big, hulking, and grey. Gold-yellow eyes glared at her and the thing kept snarling and fixating on her right hand. She looked down, the blood from earlier was smeared across her fingertips. Could wolves smell blood? She had no idea really. She took a step back slowly, praying that she could run. But even if she could, where could she go?

"N-n-nice w-w-wolf." She whispered with the non-bloody hand raised in front of her in a sort of surrender. The wolf wasn't buying it.

Ashley felt a tear slip down her cheek silently, burning her cut on the way down, and knew she was definitely panicking on the inside now. She had no idea moving here that Beacon Hill had an animal problem, but she couldn't exactly refute the evidence that was growling in front of her face.

The wolf pounced left and she turned, keeping the same distance between them. It began to walk slowly around her in a circle. Ashley was silently sobbing as she gave up trying to match its movements. The back of her foot hit something unstable and she tripped. The wolf did not appreciate the sudden movement and Ashley was so off balance from trying to right herself without making any noise that she slipped onto her bottom. Her left foot was squished under her butt and her right foot was splayed in front of her, teasing the wolf.

"Please… I know you can't understand me, but just… don't kill me?" Ashley knew how crazy she sounded trying to reason the hungry, ferocious animal, but she couldn't sit there and just let it have her.

Every bone in Ashley's body fought with her mind, trying to make her get up, but she couldn't move. The wolf was so close, she could feel its hot breath on her face. She closed her eyes tightly, a few more tears squeezing out. She did not expect her first night to involve her death, no, she hadn't prepared for that. A mugger she could have handled, but she had no training or ideas for how to out maneuver such a large beast. The wolf placed a paw onto her foot and she could feel her ankle rejecting the pressure. She bit out a scream and the wolf seemed pleased. He stepped harder… was the wolf toying with her? Did they even do that? She didn't have time for more coherent thought because the wolf was now inches from her face, slobber ran out of its mouth and fell onto her shirt in globs. _Gross._

"Scott? Scott?! Hey man, I know you're somewhere out here and it'd be nice if you'd come back!"

Both Ashley and the animal looked backwards at the sound of the disembodied voice. It was male, not super deep and kind of panicked. Ashley could relate. The wolf stepped off her foot and backed up slightly. This was her chance. Maybe this guy had a gun on him or some sort of weapon that could scare the beast away. Ashley was still terrified but the adrenaline coursing through her veins ordered her to do something.

"Hey." She said it quietly first, afraid to startle the wolf whose focus was back on her. "Hey!"

"Wha- is someone out there?" The voice was closer this time and Ashley closed her eyes in relief.

Unfortunately, the wolf didn't agree with what was happening and barked out a loud, rumbling snarl.

Ashley choked out a whimper. "Yeah, uh… over here?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific and less cryptic. And maybe louder."

It really wasn't the time for sarcasm or sass but Ashley couldn't exactly express her discomfort. Nor could she give directions, the woods all looked the same. What was she supposed to say, "I'm by the tree next to the dirt and those other trees"?

"I'm, uh, here. Can't really talk right now." Ashley raised her voice and that's where she went wrong. The wolf took in her tone, her position, and decided to attack.

Ashley scrambled backwards, clutching at the earth, but ultimately she had nowhere to go. The wolf was going for her now, ready to take a chomp out of her leg. She had hoped she wouldn't have to start a new high school, but this was not exactly what she meant. She didn't want to have to die in order to avoid making friends and meeting people.

"Oh… Holy shit, okay."

Ashley opened her eyes and the wolf paused mid-bite. She turned her head, her eyes meeting a bright light emitting from the now-visible stranger's hand. She glanced at the man who was still fairly shielded thanks to the darkness and back to the animal.

"Help?" She rolled her eyes upwards.

A second later, the flashlight knocked into the wolf's head and landed next to her on the ground, only illuminating her fear. The wolf shook its head back and forth, more annoyed than scared. Ashley had a few choices words for the daft stranger, but she held them in. She did not want her last words to be curses.

"Get out! Uh, away! Shoo!" The man was next to her and actually trying to shoo the beast away like it was a fly. A fly. Ashley bit her tongue as he went on. "Look at me, come on! Go!"

To her supreme surprise, the wolf turned to the man and just looked at him. A deep glance and then he ran. Ran. Away. While Ashley gripped the dirt and felt her heart racing. What the hell had just happened?

"Are you okay?" The boy, she could see now that the 'man' had been no older than her, was stuttering and sort of.. twitchy.

"No. I was almost just mauled by a freaking wolf on my first night in town." Her teeth chattered and her hands shook like she was being electrocuted. Her butt stayed firmly planted in the soil until a hand reached out to help her up. She took it uneasily.

"Right, uh, sorry. But I mean, I don't know if it was a wolf. Looked like a mountain lion to me, they're pretty big."

Ashley narrowed her eyes as she regained her footing. "Are you trying to tell me that that thing… never mind… I can't believe you tried to shoo it away. I could've died, and that's the tactic you try?"

"It wouldn't have killed you." Ashley raised her eyebrows as far as they could go, clearly this guy had issues. "Uh, because I sent it away. And threw my flashlight at it."

"Right…" She wiped her the back of her pants off and stared at her feet. Her mind was reeling, and she was sure she was going insane. Had she really almost died? Been mauled by some sort of animal? No. No way in hell. This was not her life. She was used to preparing for everything and nothing happening, not having everything happen and being able to do nothing about it. Finally coming to her senses, sort of, she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"W-what are you doing?"

The boy wasn't looking at Ashley but past her, assessing the woods still. Ashley took in his jittery behavior and chalked it up to him being a weirdo. He moved forward and grabbed the forgotten flash light, turning it off and sticking it in his front pocket.

"I'm calling the police." She rolled her eyes. "They need to know about the animal before someone actually gets hurt."

Her fingers trembled as she dialed the three small numbers that would help her come to terms with what happened. She was about to press send when a hand snatched her phone from her. She looked up in anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She reached for her phone but the stranger jumped back and held it behind him.

"I just, I don't think it's necessary. You're fine now, he's gone, no big deal."

Okay, he was definitely more than a weirdo. He was hiding something. Ashley reach around him for her phone but he stepped back and nervously rubbed his short hair.

"He?"

"Huh?" He paused long enough for Ashley to snatch her phone back.

"You said he, not it." She dialed 911 and was able to press send this time, as the guy silently protested by throwing up his hands in the air and shaking his head no.

"It looked like a he, didn't you think so? It had a very masculine air about it."

Ashley ignored his ramblings as she was connected to a dispatcher. "Hello? Yes, my name is Ashley Booker and I am currently somewhere in the woods… I'm not exactly sure, I'm new… It's a clearing and, uh, surrounded by other woods. I know I definitely walked past a few streets but didn't hit any sort of fast food places or stores… Well, I was attacked by a… an animal. I'm fine now. Okay, thanks." She clicked her phone shut and let out a sigh of relief.

"What'd they say?" The man squeaked.

Ashley jumped, she had forgotten he was still there. "They're coming, about ten minutes, but they have to find me first."

"Oh." He moved his eyes around everything and then began to retreat back to where he came from.

"You're leaving?" Ashley whimpered and cursed herself for sounding so weak.

"Well, yeah. The police are coming and I… I have to go."

"What if it comes back?" She winced. She wasn't normally so helpless, but then she wasn't normally stranded, lost, and facing deadly beasts.

"Run." He shrugged and raised his brows as if it was the only advice that was logical.

Ashley stayed silent for a moment, observing him and his twitchy habits. He hadn't stopped moving since they began talking, which meant he either had ADD or he was nervous and lying. And why had he been in the woods to begin with? She rewound her memory, glossing over the more terrifying moments.

"I hope you find you friend." She narrowed her eyes, studying.

"Wh-what? How did you know about that?"

"Sort of how you found me." She mentioned.

"Right. Uh, well I have to go f-find my friend so, uh, just… if you hear anything, run. Town is that way." He pointed to his left.

"Gee, thanks." Ashley mumbled. He ignored her sarcasm and kept on his trek. She was torn between gratitude for him being there at all and anger for leaving her alone.

Five nerve-racking minutes later, she heard sirens and saw a couple flashlights coming towards her. The police, she had survived. She pinched herself to make sure she hadn't already died or anything more insane and then stepped forward. She had to talk to the police officers, going over everything with them. Apparently, animal attacks had begun happening frequently, or more frequently than before. Ashley climbed into the back of a police car when they made their way out of the woods and stared aimlessly out of the window as they drove her home. Her parents would be pissed and this would only give them a new topic to fight over.

But, she thought, if she could make it through a wild animal attack and a stranger who was so infuriating she almost wished she could have taken the beast on alone, she could totally deal with a new high school. At least, that's what she convinced herself before bed that night. After the dust settled and her parents let her go to her room, she was left with her thoughts and a very vivid image of a wolf close to biting her leg off.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: OMG, HI! My first Author's Note! I hope you like this story! A few things have been changed, like the events of the first episode were sort of wrapped into one day. Just pretend, guys ;) It was my bad. Also, instead of the Betas running around like wolf-men, they too can change into full wolf, but only when the pull is really strong. Not always. I hope you guys like Ashley, let me know what scenes from the show you want included! It's very unlikely I'll include any dialogue direct from TW, but that's just how I roll ;) Leave reviews, favorite, all that good stuff! I LOVE YOU ALL, and you give me the inspiration to keep me going. Ignore any typos or grammatical errors, I have no Beta. :( All the characters and major plot points belong to MTV's Teen Wolf, of course. ENJOY! **_

Ashley was running behind. She had expected to wake up extra early for her first day at her new school. Instead, she slept straight through her phone's alarm and ended up being woken up by her father who was on his way to work. Ashley's father was a manager for a new medical clinic in town, while her mother was still a stay at home mom. Her dad shook her awake and Ashley's eyes popped open.

"What time is it?" She croaked, getting her strength back little by little.

"It's a quarter to eight. You've got about twenty five minutes before Mom needs to take you to school." Her dad straightened his tie and smoothed down his dark blonde hair, not that he actually had a lot of hair to smooth down.

"Crap!" Ashley threw herself out of bed and ignored her dad's startled expression. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"After what you went through I thought you could use the sleep."

"I told you, Brad." Ashley's mom poked her head into Ashley's room and sent her husband a knowing look.

"Jill-"

"No. No, you guys can argue later. I have to get ready." Ashley pushed her dad out the door with a huff. Her parents were getting on her nerves more and more lately, always finding something miniscule to bicker over. She wished she had a sibling to make it better, but her parents had decided one was more than enough.

After turning on her radio, Ashley threw her closet doors open and scrambled to find something that was on a hanger and not still in one of the many boxes down stairs. She settled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain purple shirt. She ran to her bathroom and locked herself in, showering off everything that had happened last night. She pushed the horrible thoughts from her mind, no way was she delving into that drama, not when she had six minutes to shower and change.

She didn't work well under pressure normally, but thankfully, she didn't have a huge beauty routine. After she was clean, she pulled a comb through her hair and swiped on some mascara. That was it. She took the stairs two by two and met her mom in the kitchen. She was buttering a bagel and pouring a cup of tea for Ashley, their usual school routine.

"Thanks." Ashley chewed loudly. Each bite was followed by a big gulp of piping hot tea. She grabbed her already packed bag from the breakfast bar and tossed it over her shoulder. "We need to go."

"I packed you lunch." Her mom chirped happily. Her black hair was twisted into a bun and she was wearing a skirt, blouse, and cardigan. Ashley was nothing like her peppy, carefree mother.

"Mom, I'm sixteen. I don't need you to make me lunch." She argued. Her mom was always trying to baby her, to make sure everything was perfect. Stay-at-home mom was a job she took too seriously in Ashley's opinion.

"Just take it." She handed the brown paper bag to Ashley who shoved it in her backpack.

They walked to the car in silence, Ashley's mind was still trying to catch up. She never slept in. Never. Not even during the summer or on the weekends. Maybe she deserved it after the trauma of last night… They climbed into the old Honda Civic.

"How are you, sweetie?"

"Mom, I'm fine." She noticed the tone in her mother's voice instantly, the concerned tone that said she was in for a long conversation.

"You went through so much. The sheriff said you were really lucky."

"Yes, I'm lucky that I ran into an animal that almost_ ate_ me."

"No one told you to sneak out." Her mom shot her a pointed look as they drove down the road. Ashley ignored her and stared out of her own window.

"I didn't sneak out. I just… I had to get out."

"I know." Her mom frowned. "I can ask your dad look into a few therapists and maybe we can get you a prescription-"

"I don't have anxiety and I don't need any meds!" Ashley sighed in frustration. She shook her head as they pulled to a stop in front of her new school. The overwhelming feeling started again and she could feel tingles in her fingers spread to her whole body. Crap. "I'm sorry, Mom. For yelling. I'm just, I'm fine. Honestly."

"Okay, Ash. If you say so." Her mom sighed and checked her hair.

Ashley looked up at the huge, almost grey brick building. Students mingled outside and all she could think was, for such a small town, there was no way that they needed a school this big. She sighed, this time out of fear. Okay, she could do this. She just had to go inside, find her schedule, and locker, and go to first period. It'd be fine. Totally fine.

"You might want to think about getting out of the car." Her mom mentioned and then kissed Ashley on the cheek.

Ashley pulled the door open, counting to one hundred in her head. The students looked pretty much like average teenagers, but that didn't make the situation any less intimidating. She crossed out of the parking lot, almost stumbling into a grey Porsche, but side stepped around it at the last minute. No way was she going to even breathe on a car that expensive. She pulled her old, black backpack higher on her shoulders and kept her head down as she moved around the groups of friends that were still outside. Her hair fell down like a drape to cover her face, the way she liked it when she was nervous.

She was stopped when she got inside by an eager looking man. "Hi, are you Ashley Booker?"

"Uh, yeah." She nodded, shocked at the instantaneous attention.

"I'm Mr. Allen, vice principal and your new tour guide."

Ashley chuckled nervously. "Oh, I don't think I need a tour guide."

"Please, come with me." He began walking and Ashley had no choice but to keep pace behind him. He led her into a large office area where he started talking to a secretary.

There were no students in the office, but that was to be expected since it wasn't exactly the first day anymore. Mr. Allen handed her a schedule and a massive amount of text books, and then took her down the hall to each and every class. It was more than embarrassing but Ashley couldn't stop the man. She couldn't even get a word in edgewise, he just kept droning on and on. Finally, they stopped in front of her new locker where he urged her to use it. She grimaced, though it was supposed to be a grin.

"Thanks, I think I've got it from here."

"Right, well Ms. Booker, have a wonderful first day! If you need anything, you know where the office is."

"Right." Ashley thanked him and then turned to her locker. Leaning against it for a moment to catch her breath. It was like the world hadn't stopped moving since she got to Beacon.

She opened the locker and deposited most of the books. She kept the economics one as that was her first class, but everything else she organized by period so she could grab her things and go after each class. There were kids laughing around her but she refused to look. Her stomach was queasy and threatening to return the bagel she had eaten for breakfast. Maybe being eaten would've been easier. Okay, no, crazy thinking, but god, did new social situations have to be so hard? She knew she was frowning and her blue eyes were probably deer-in-headlights wide, that was her typical scared face. She hated that she was an open book. She heard a bang next to her but refused to look up, she just kept working and organizing.

"Hey, you're Ashley, right?" Okay, that got her attention. She glanced up, looking at a tanned, semi-muscular guy with really, really floppy hair.

"Yeah… why?" She felt confused, she had no idea who this guy was. She hadn't even been in any classes yet.

"My friend Stiles told me about what happened and I just wanted to-"

Hold on. "Stiles? What?" She finally met Floppy Hair's eyes and noticed there was another person behind him. Short hair, brown eyes, hands awkwardly in his pockets, nervous energy… "You were the guy from last night." She realized.

"You could refer to me as, I don't know, your savior or knight in shining armor."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "No."

"No? Wha-I- I totally saved you!" He argued, wild hand gestures and all. Yeah, he was definitely a pain in the ass.

"I was almost eaten. Eaten! And you threw a flashlight at it. Oh, and then you tried to steal my phone." Ashley felt her face flame as it always did when she was embarrassed, or upset, or angry, or any sort of heated emotion.

"I made him go away, didn't I? I thought you'd be more appreciative."

"There's that 'him' again." She pointed out.

Stiles spun around in frustration and kicked a trashcan. Ashley slammed her locker shut and pushed her hair behind her right ear. She wanted to curse or stomp her foot on his, but she kept herself composed.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay." Stiles' friend interrupted. Ashley turned to him and flashed a barely-there smile.

"I'm fine." She zipped her bag up and pulled it onto her shoulders.

"Hey Scott!" A voice behind Ashley, high pitched and girly, called out.

"L-L-Lydia…" Stiles stuttered. He smoothed down his blazer like it was a tux and leaned awkwardly against the lockers. Boy, did he have it bad.

"Jackson and I just wanted to say good luck on making first line tonight. You're really good, might give Jackson a run for his money."

Lydia had light red hair and vibrant green eyes, her stance was cool, confident and she had no problem staring Scott right in the eyes. She sneered at Jackson before turning back to Scott. Ashley knew Lydia was the IT girl, but that wasn't concerning her because she also knew she had heard that name before.. Scott…

"You gonna admit what's really going on yet?" Jackson said. He was model-esque with sharp cheekbones and brown hair. He was angry, with narrowing eyes and a blunt tone. He was just the type of person that frightened Ashley.

Scott and Stiles were taking turns looking at each other before answering. Stiles spoke for Scott.

"Nothing's going on, he just… practiced a lot over the summer. With me. Nothing weird happened, not at all. Certainly nothing life changing." Scott smacked Stiles in the chest. "I'm gonna, uh, stop talking now."

Ashley bit down on her cheek to stop from smiling. What a dork. It was obvious he was hiding something but Ashley wasn't sure she wanted to know what.

"Whatever." Jackson pushed past Scott and Stiles with his shoulder.

"Yikes." Ashley mumbled accidentally. She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but she was thinking about multiple things and her filter wasn't really working. Lydia, the pretty girl, turned to her with severe attitude.

"Who are you?"

"Uh, me? I'm Ashley, I'm new."

"Oh." She frowned, looking Ashley up and down. "The other one's much prettier. You do know what a hairdryer is, right?"

Ashley touched her wavy locks that were still a bit damp and blushed. She nervously nibbled on the inside of her lip as Lydia looked at Scott one last time.

"See you at practice later." She flashed a bright smile and strutted away.

Ashley let out a breath, she was more than relieved. She had a hard time dealing with new people, let alone people who seemed superior to her.

"Dude, did you see that? She totally looked at me, eye contact and all." Stiles raised a fist in the air and Ashley rolled her eyes. Boys. She didn't think he was that far out of Lydia's league, Lydia was beautiful, but Stiles wasn't bad. Not that his personality was glowing, but he didn't deserve to be totally brushed off either. Ashley hadn't seen Lydia look at him, not even a single glance in his direction. She felt sort of bad. Scott smirked at Stiles, a pity smirk.

"Oh. Scott." Ashley stated, blinking twice. "The friend you were looking for in the woods?" She asked Stiles. His nervous twitch started again as he rocked on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah. That was me." Scott answered. He was concentrating on something off in the distance but Ashley didn't care to look.

"Why were you roaming around the woods at night?"

"He lost his inhaler!" Stiles announced loudly. Ashley took a step back.

"I'm gonna go." She pointed to the direction she'd be walking to get to the econ room and side stepped the now whispering boys. They were so strange, to a point where it hurt to be around them. She had never met such paranoid people. It was like she was in one of the soap operas her grandmother always used to watch.

They didn't say goodbye, just let her walk off to her classroom. The people at Beacon Hills were not her cup of tea, and she had to survive basically another three years there. When she made it to the class, the bell rang, and she sat in the very last row near the door. It was harder for her to pay attention than she would've thought, her mind was working at full speed thinking about the woods and a certain wolf with glowing yellow eyes.

Ashley went about her day like normal until she got to Chemistry. She walked in slowly as she noticed Jackson looking angrily in the direction of the door. She knew it wasn't directed towards her, but that didn't make her feel better. The teacher up front called her name out. It was becoming more and more apparent throughout the day just how small of a town Beacon Hills was. Everyone knew who she was almost instantly just because she was a strange face.

"Yes, Mr. Harris?" She asked politely. Ashley was always polite, and so far none of her teachers had been that bad. Her econ teacher was a little strange, but he wasn't mean to her.

"Stop staring off into space and take a seat."

"Oh." She said, startled. Scratch what she just said. She took a seat near the back at an empty black table.

It was a good seat. She could see everyone but no one could see her. Unless they turned around in their seat, of course, but she doubted they would. She propped open a Chemistry book and yanked a blank notebook out of her bag. She hated science. Well, she liked it when it was about experiments and even biology, but the equation/math sort of science? No. That was her least favorite subject.

"Are you sure you should go tonight?"

"Yeah, Allison's gonna be there."

Ashley looked up at the two boys walking into class. Great. She had avoided the duo most of the day, she thought maybe they were in different grades. Stiles whipped his head towards her after Scott did one of those nod things. Ashley looked down at her paper like it was super interesting. They might've been the worst liars in the history of the world, and the last thing she needed was to get mixed up in any of it. Her guess was drugs, Stiles was too weird not be on any, and Scott… well she had heard some new reports on Scott throughout the day, namely how good he was at Lacrosse now.

Through her peripheral vision, she saw them taking their seats. They kept glancing back to her and whispering. An argument, Scott looked upset and Stiles was, well she didn't know what he was. He was doing hand gestures and she couldn't tell if he was angry or excited. She looked up fully to try and figure it out, but they both turned at the same time and then there was some awkward eye contact. She bit her lip and blushed, looking back down and scolding herself. She didn't care. What happened the other night was over and that was that. End of story.

When school was finally over, Ashley took out her cell and turned it on. Yes, she turned her phone off during the day like school policy stated, and yes, she was one of the only kids to do that, but she didn't need to get in trouble. Her phone beeped, alerting her to a few messages. One from her dad wishing her luck, one from her old friend Bethany asking how everything was going, and one was from her mom.

**Movers just came. Can't pick you up, have any friends who can take you home?**

Ashley groaned. Of course. Freaking of course. The one day her mother neglects her is the first day. Ashley called her mom.

"Ash, how was your day?" Her mother sounded breathless.

"Fine. But I need a ride."

Ashley heard a grunt and a groan. "I can't pick you up right now, kiddo. Movers just dumped everything in the living room and now I have to fix it." More grunting and a loud screech.

"Can't you come get me and then I can help?"

There was a crash of something that sounded like glass and her mother swore. "I'll get you soon then." She was not in a good mood, and Ashley could hear how occupied she was. Her mom would not be getting her soon.

Ashley groaned as her mom hung up and looked around. If only she could drive… She went out the doors and felt the light breeze on her face. There was nowhere for her to really go, she decided to explore. Nothing crazy like last night, nothing that would be life threatening, but she couldn't stay in one spot. Not when she was in the way of people trying to get to their cars and talk to their friends. She circled around the building twice, taking small steps and breaks. Looking at her phone, it had been an hour since she called her mom. She sighed again as she took another lap towards the gym and football field.

There was a practice going on. Lacrosse, she noted as she watched the players scrimmaging. Just then, the coach blew a whistle, and Ashley stepped closer to the field. Okay, so it was actually a field meant for lacrosse, not football. She watched as the guys lined up in two separate lines, facing one another. Then, they charged. She was still walking to the field when it happened. One player rammed another into the ground, hard. She heard a bang when the helmets hit and picked up her pace to a jog when she heard yelling. The coach leaned over the player who was still on the ground and another player went to help the one who had hit him. The coach, her econ teacher, glanced over and she realized how close she was.

"You. New girl, what are you doing out here?"

Ashley took a small step back, surprised. "Me?"

"No, the other new girl." He rolled his crazed eyes.

The injured player let out a frustrated grunt and the coach turned back to him.

"Is he okay?" She asked.

"He better be. We have a game Friday." The coach asked the player where it hurt and Ashley noticed it was Jackson.

"I, uh, I…"

"Spit it out." Mr. Finstock said, not looking away from the player.

Ashley hurried forward until she was looking down at a fuming Jackson. "I took first aid training this summer. I can help?" She was nervous, her voice was wavering. She really hated herself sometimes.

"It's a sprain." Mr. Finstock told her. "He just needs to go to the hospital."

"His shoulder might be dis-"

"It's a sprain." Mr. Finstock repeated. "Good hit, McCall." He called over to the other player which only made Jackson angrier.

The coach pulled Jackson up and then marched him to the bench. Ashley saw Lydia give him an ashamed look before going down to help him. Her attention was pulled back to the field when she noticed the other player hadn't moved yet. She took a deep breath for confidence and went over to help.

"Are you okay? I didn't see what happened, but it sounded bad…" Her voice drifted off as the helper turned around. Seriously.

"He's fine." Stiles defended in a harsh tone. The other boy still didn't turn, he just knelt down, breathing hard.

"Are you sure?" She leaned over to ask him.

"Fine." Scott growled.

"You should probably take him to the hospital." Ashley told Stiles who was holding onto Scott like his life depended on it.

"What? Why? He's fine, like we said."

"You said he lost his inhaler, he's not going to get better just sitting here." Ashley crossed her arms and stood up again.

"How do you know about the inhaler?" Stiles stood too, leaving Scott in the grass. He wasn't as jumpy as earlier, but maybe she just couldn't see his nervous ticks because he was dressed in lumpy lacrosse gear.

"You told me earlier. Do you even listen to what you tell people?"

Scott took off for the locker rooms then, running full speed, faster than she could've imagined.

"Nice, you made him run off. Great…"

"I'm sorry for trying to be helpful." Ashley stated.

They stared at each other for a moment, at an impasse, before Stiles came to his senses. "I have to check on him." He muttered and then ran after his friend.

Ashley stared at the now empty field and rolled her eyes at herself. She shouldn't have done anything, she was just scared that someone had been hurt. The coach was obviously only paying attention to his 'star' player that he had forgone caring about any injuries whatsoever. Her phone finally rang, her mom was calling which meant she was there. Ashley doubled back around the school until she found her mom. Thank goodness.

She was relieved when she and her mom got home, until she found a stranger in her house carrying a washer to the laundry room. One guy, lifting up a washing machine like that was normal. Her mother greeted him with a hello, but Ashley couldn't look away. He was tall, bulky, and…dark. He had black pants, a grey shirt, and a black leather jacket. Even his hair was black. After he deposited the machine, he came to the kitchen where Ashley was dropping off her book bag. He studied her, she could feel his eyes burning her wherever they looked. He was more than intense. She could practically feel her blood pressure rising.

"You must be Ashley." He said in a low, gravelly voice.

"Y-yeah that's me." She pulled at the ends of her hair, nervously. Great, now she had a nervous twitch.

"I'm Devon. I was in the neighborhood and your mom obviously needed some help."

"He was a lifesaver. The moving men just up and left while I was outside getting ready to pick you up, but Devon showed up a bit later."

"What a lucky coincidence." Ashley tried chuckling, but there was something off about the way this guy was looking at her.

"I'm just going to grab a few boxes and bring them to your room." Her mom pushed a piece of hair out of her face and grabbed a few small boxes, stacking them.

"N-no Mom, I can do that."

"Don't be silly, Ash." Her mom laughed and climbed the stairs slowly. Once she was out of earshot, Devon turned to Ashley.

"I heard about what happened last night. Sounded pretty crazy." He stepped forward and Ashley swallowed. "What did you see exactly? Your mom said you didn't tell the police anything specific."

"Oh, uh…" Ashley blinked, what should she say? His stare was making her lose all recollection of the previous night. "P-probably just a mountain lion." She wasn't sure why she didn't tell him that she didn't really know, that she had thought it was a wolf.

"You sure? I heard it was pretty big." He took another step. She wanted to whimper, but held her ground.

"P-positive." Holy crap, what was with the stuttering? She cursed herself and gave Devon a fake smile.

"Good." He took another step, closing the gap between them. "Anything else would've been crazy."

She had no idea why, but the normal words sounded like a threat. She heard her mom coming down the stairs and Devon went back to work. She stood near the kitchen table, shuffling nervously until he finished and left. As the door closed, she turned to her mother who was wearing a large grin.

"Why would you tell him about what happened to me last night?" She whispered harshly, afraid he could hear her for some insane reason.

"Don't be silly. I haven't told anyone." Her mother laughed.

Ashley found her reflection in a mirror that had yet to be hung. She looked as pale as she felt, her skin ran cold. Whoever Devon was, he was bad news, Ashley could feel it. Not to mention he had her mother's trust and knew where she lived… Okay, admittedly, now she might have anxiety ….


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hi again! I hope you enjoy chapter 3 of my story. I'd love to hear if there are any scenes in particular you'd like me to work Ashley into or any thoughts or feelings you have at all. I'm having such a blast writing this, I've never written for someone as hard as Stiles. I hope I've done him justice, even slightly. Thanks to the review and follows I've gotten! I love you all, SHOUTOUT to SplendiferousBowties for being my first review. So sweet, I love it! Read on my friends, and let me know what you think... [PS- I already have the BEST idea for a sequel, so if I get enough love back, I will make that happen] **_

Ashley spent the morning of her Saturday actually trying to relax. Her first few days at school were actually pretty boring. Stiles and Scott had left her alone, not that it didn't stop her from noticing their whispers and paranoia, and no one else had really talked to her. Well, that wasn't really true. Another new girl, Allison, had been nice enough to talk to her for a bit in the cafeteria. She was kind and sort of resembled a modern day Snow White in Ashley's eyes, Allison's dark hair was striking against her pale skin, but she sat with Lydia's popular group so Ashley didn't get to talk to Allison much.

Her parents were calm, no longer bickering and settling for an uncomfortable silence at all times. They hadn't even overreacted to the whole animal attack ordeal. Ashley wasn't sure if she should have been concerned or not, but she figured she was doing enough worrying for all of them. She just kept thinking about how close she had been to death, how close she had been to that…thing. Her memory was hazy and she couldn't even picture it, it was like there was a thin film over her thoughts and she couldn't think clearly. She woke during the nights suddenly, her heart beating and sweat falling off of her in droplets. Night terrors, she hadn't had them since she was young. Luckily they hadn't progressed to the point where she was screaming so her parents had no idea. She should have told them, really. But she kept thinking about Devon, the cryptic stranger, and how he did not seem like the type of guy she wanted to rub the wrong way, and there was no way she was putting her parents in danger.

"There's a lacrosse game tonight." Ashley's mom flittered around the living room, dusting and moving around trinkets. Their house was barely lived in and her mom still found a reason to clean.

"Cool." Ashley muttered. She had headphones in and her nose was stuck in a book. Something about romance and young love, nothing she could actually relate to, but it was mind numbing enough that it calmed down her worries.

"Your father and I were talking last night and we think you should go."

Ashley looked up at her mom, a surprised expression etched on her face. "You want me to go to a school sporting event?"

"Ash, honey, at your old school… you just… you had one friend and you two only went to the bookstore together. These are your teen years! It's supposed to be the time-"

"Of my life, I know." Ashley paused, frowning. She wished her mom didn't sound so upset about it, like she was disappointing her by not being a social butterfly. "I've made a few friends at school." She lied, but it was worth it when she saw the smile on her mom's face.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Uh.. This girl Allison, she's new too. And then there's this girl Lydia, and Stiles, and Scott…" She rattled off the names that came to mind first.

"Boys?!" Her mom dropped her dusting rag and fell onto the couch next to Ashley.

"Boys." Ashley's insides twisted. Her mother was ecstatic, unbelievably ecstatic. She rushed to correct herself. "But they're just friends."

"I'm sure they are." Ashley's mother let out a sigh of relief. "We have to go to the game so I can meet them."

"I don't know if they'll even be there…" Ashley awkwardly chuckled.

"Please, your father was talking to some co-workers and they said that lacrosse is this town's big sport. Apparently even a lot of the parents in town go."

"I-I-" Ashley stuttered helplessly.

At that point in time, her father walked into the room. He stood tall and wide, like a large door, and grinned at seeing his wife so happy. Ashley could feel the situation taking a wrong turn, but it was out of her control at that point.

"What's going on?" He inquired.

"Nothing." Ashley jumped in. Her mom shooed her to the end of the couch.

"Our little girl has a couple friends, including boys." Her mom winked and giggled, Ashley hid her face behind a ruby red couch pillow. How could parents be so embarrassing, even at home?

"Boys? Oh god… I didn't think this would happen so soon." Her dad fake-groaned and then gave her a proud nudge on the shoulder.

Could she have been a bigger loser? She muttered obscenities to herself. She was so undeniably lame, even her parents knew it. They were overjoyed that she made friends, if that didn't tell her all she needed to know…

"And I was saying we should go to the game then." Her mother continued on the path to ruin Ashley's Saturday.

"No. I don't like sports. And they'll be in their cliques and you know…" Her mom's face fell, even her father looked disappointed. Ashley huffed. "But we could stop by for a few minutes."

The parents cheered happily which did make Ashley feel a little better. All she had to do now was convince them she had actually made friends instead of making some weird borderline-enemies.

While she was trying on clothes, Ashley turned on her television. It sat on her desk, next to an opened box full of old photos and diaries she had kept throughout the years. She switched it over to the news while yanking a dress over her head. She checked it out in the mirror and shook her head. No, she could not wear a dress. Dresses and skirts just weren't her. She glanced at the screen, no news on any animals. She had been paying attention to the paper and news lately in case she did hear something about a wolf, but she hadn't.

"Breaking news: the police department has officially declared that they've found the lead suspect in the Laura Hale murder case. They're currently holding Laura's brother in jail he is found not guilty."

Ashley stared at the screen as the news displayed a picture of the murderer. Derek Hale. There was a picture above his name, one she recognized really well. Devon was actually Derek. She narrowed her eyes as the dress she was holding fell to the floor. Thank god he was behind bars, he had been in her house! And now she's finding out that he sawed his sister in half! The news anchor went on to give more details but Ashley tuned out when she heard it had happened right before they moved. Had her parents not done any research at all on Beacon Hills? The camera clicked over to the crime scene where the police had found the other half of the body and Ashley gulped. Standing next to the Sherriff who had found her on her first night when she was in the woods was Stiles, less twitchy and more anxious. It was an old video, she could tell, but not that old. What was he doing there? Did he know Derek? Had that been how Derek had found out what happened?

She kicked the dress aside and pulled out a pair of jeans and a black sweater. She was going to the game and she was going to get answers. But first, she was going to straighten her hair and put on some makeup so her parents would buy that she was actually a normal teenage girl and not a total loser.

"We're going to be late." Her mom called to her from the stairs a few hours later.

Ashley looked in the mirror. Her average frame looked slimmer in the shirt and she had even dabbled a bit of gloss on her pink lips. Her hair seemed more golden after being flat-ironed, and she stowed the flip flops away in favor of black ballet flats. It was acceptable, definitely acceptable.

She met her parents downstairs, both were dressed in Beacon Hills gear which was a little mortifying. Her mom gushed a little, saying something about how her baby was growing up, but Ashley just laughed and pushed them to the door. She kept a smile on her face the whole way, not revealing just how antsy she was. She planned on confronting Stiles who seemed to be everywhere Derek was, but she wasn't sure she had the courage to do so. Her parents would expect her to introduce them to her friends too, and while she figured Allison was nice enough to play along, she didn't have the same sentiments about the others she had listed.

The car pulled into the lot fast than she would've liked and suddenly she was surrounded by peers and parents and herded to the large lacrosse field in the back of the school.

"This is so exciting. I don't think I've been to a sport's game in at least fifteen years." Her mom exclaimed.

"It's been awhile." Her dad grinned. He grabbed his wife's hand and Ashley found herself smiling as well, it had been too long since they had showed real affection.

Ashley's parents had met in high school and had her as soon as they both graduated from the same college. They tended to glorify the olden days, though Ashley couldn't imagine why they were so fond of high school in the first place. Her dad had been a soccer player and her mother had been the school's class president. Ashley was more of a bookworm, a loner. But they were in such a good mood, Ashley didn't want to ruin it. They looked so at peace, something rarely found in their relationship.

"Should we find seats by ourselves so you can sit with your friends?" Her mom paused at the end of the bleachers, ready to climb.

"Um," Ashley looked around for a moment, focusing in on Stiles near the lacrosse field. "I'm going to say hi to someone real quick, but save me a seat."

Her mom hit her father and they exchanged a look. Ashley ignored their ridiculous positivity and jog-walked to the player's bench.

"Stiles." She poked him on the shoulder. He whipped around in surprise. Scott, who sat beside him, gave her a small smile. "Can I talk to you?"

"Me? Why, uh, why would you want to talk to me?" He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

"Please." She hissed and Scott shoved Stiles off the bench. Stiles grumbled, a sound Ashley did not appreciate.

"What's up?"

Ashley studied him for a moment when they were off to the side in private. He was tense, nervous for the game probably. She wondered if he was as good as Scott. "I need to know-"

"Is this gonna take a while, 'cause I have a game to play."

"Derek Hale. You know him?"

Stiles' face went pale, and his stare went cold. He began stuttering and looking back to Scott. "How do you kn-know Derek? Why would you think I know him?"

"You were there when the news reported that they found the murder suspect."

"You ever think about going into detective work? Seems like a field you'd be good in, what with the observations and deductions. Or maybe a reporter, like Clark Kent but-"

"Stiles! Just… how do you know him?" Ashley rubbed her arms, either the temperature was dropping or the subject was giving her chills.

"Why do you want to know?"

Ashley bit her cheek. She didn't need him to be complicated now, not when the game was almost starting and she had limited time to get real answers. "Did you tell him about when you found me?"

"When I found you? Oh, right. No, why would I tell him about that night?"

Ashley frowned and bit her lip.

"Wait, has he, has he said something to you? Like has he talked to you?" Stiles stepped forward, blocking the wind but not taking away the cold feeling in Ashley's spine.

"He came to my house." Ashley looked up and into Stiles' eyes. "Is he your friend?"

"Shit. No. I mean, no, not really. What did he want?"

"I don't know… But it doesn't matter, right? He's locked up now."

Stiles glanced back and Ashley noticed the sheriff in the stands. She thought talking to Stiles would make her feel better, more assured, but it was having the opposite effect.

"I don't-" A whistle blew and Mr. Finstock screamed for Stiles to get back to the bench. Stiles looked back and forth, between the team and Ashley. He turned to go. "Make sure you lock up at night, say your prayers, and you'll be fine." He told her, but the sentiment was sarcastic and didn't reach his eyes.

"He's in jail though, right?" She called after him, but he didn't answer. He ran to the bench and whispered a bit to Scott who stared at Ashley from across the field. "Complicated asshole." She muttered as she wandered back to the bench. Her mom flashed her a thumbs up which made her roll her eyes. As dramatic as it sounded, she was starting to feel like she was a goldfish in a sea of sharks.

The game ended abruptly with Scott, after finally being passed to, scoring the final goal. The crowd cheered like crazy, especially Allison Ashley noticed, but the odd part (and there was always an odd part with Scott and Stiles) was when the ball went through the goal and pretty much blasted a hole in it. Ashley squinted her eyes and stared as her parents cheered with the crowd. Had that ever been done before? Scott didn't even stop to soak up the congratulations after the game when the crowd ran to the field, he sprinted past them and straight to the locker room. Ashley watched as Allison followed. Stiles stopped by the sheriff first which caught Ashley's attention. They exchanged rather serious words before Stiles took off after Scott as well.

It was official, she was caught in some cheesy Scooby Doo mystery. At least, it felt like that. Her parents clapped her on the back and told her to say goodbye to her friends. Ashley hopped off the bleachers and went around the building to the side where the locker rooms were. She passed by a very happy looking Allison and stopped when she came to a solid wall. Yes, it was childish of her to hide from her parents, but she didn't want to disappoint them when the night had gone so well. Aside from the whole Derek situation.

"…Derek's free… Animal hair and he's not part animal…" Ashley turned to the open locker room. What? No. She stepped closer but the voices stopped. She was almost run down by Scott and Stiles.

Ashley jumped out of the way in time, as did Scott. She glanced up guiltily, knowing that the eavesdropping was probably written all over her face. "Good game." She smiled.

"Oh for fu- Were you listening just now or trying to get a peek into the boy's locker room?" Stiles demanded. He was clearly frustrated, and Scott didn't look much better. They both had on their serious thinking faces. At least she wasn't the only obvious one.

"I was waiting here." She said defensively, pushing her hair back. Stiles looked ready to argue.

"Stiles?" Scott asked.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"I didn't even say anything." Stiles noticed the look on Scott's face too, and agreed to keep his mouth shut.

"What were you waiting for?" Scott asked Ashley. She liked how calm he sounded even though she knew he was irritated. His right hand kept balling into a fist and his jaw was clenched, but those were things only she probably noticed.

"I was… I was hiding from my parents." She admitted after being unable to come up with a valid excuse. The last thing they all needed were more lies. Stiles burst out laughing, but the other two ignored him. He seemed offended, not that Ashley cared.

"Stiles told me Derek was bothering you."

"Dude, what the hell?" Stiles protested.

"Yeah, sort of. I mean, he showed up to my house randomly, but he said his name was Devon. Then I saw him on the news today." She explained as simply as she could.

"You need to stay away from him, he's not safe. I mean, he's really, really dangerous. But if he does come by again, call one of us."

Ashley looked between the two very serious boys. "You want to give me your number?" She asked Scott specifically.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with me, I am just as informed." Stiles argued.

"Again, you threw a _flashlight_ at a _wolf _and expected it to run away." Ashley rolled her eyes as Scott put in his number. The boys stopped and looked at each other.

"Wolf? Stiles, uh, told me you saw a mountain lion?" Scott's puppy dog eyes raised in panic.

"Right. Wolf, mountain lion, whatever." Ashley laughed as authentically as she could, all the while studying them. Why was everyone giving her shit over what sort of animal she saw? "But Derek, he's in jail?"

"Uh, well." Scott looked at Stiles.

"Might as well, we should just tell the whole state everything we know. In fact, why stop there, let's tell the entire freaking country." Stiles kicked at the grass.

"Derek was released tonight. There wasn't enough evidence to keep him."

"So he's still dangerous and now he's free?" Ashley could feel the tingles beginning in her fingers, but tried to shake off the panic.

"He shouldn't bother you." Scott assured her.

"That didn't answer my question." She uttered.

"Stiles, you coming?" The sheriff called. Ashley looked between them, confused, as the sheriff walked towards them.

"Sheriff Stilinski?"

"Ashley, how are you?" He asked kindly.

"I'm okay…" She was more than confused.

"I take it you've met my dad." Stiles said.

Ashley looked between them. That explained why Stiles always had inside with the police and why he was at the crime scene. Why he had been talking to him earlier…

"Oh my god, she's thinking again. I swear, she never stops. We need to go." Stiles pulled on his dad's arm and gave Scott a look.

"Good seeing you Ashley." Sheriff Stilinski called back to her. She waved to them and looked down at her phone. Scott had written his number in it, but she hoped she would never have to use it.

Her parents were more than impressed with how the evening had turned out, even though they didn't actually meet any of Ashley's friends. While her parents teased her the entire way home, Ashley couldn't help but continue to look over her shoulder. She was sure she'd see Derek there, just watching her, but she didn't see him. When they got home, Ashley shoved her parents inside and locked both locks. They gave her a funny look but didn't mention it.

"You locked the back door, right?" Ashley ran through the house, checking that all the windows were closed.

"Ash, what is this about?" Her dad grabbed her by the shoulders as Ashley flew past him. She looked at his face, the wrinkles around his eyes and the mole on his left cheek, no way could she let Derek get near her parents again.

"I just want everyone to be safe." She shrugged her father off of her and tied her hair up, something she rarely did.

"Is this about the mountain lion? I know we haven't really talked about it, but we can." He sat down at the breakfast bar.

"I'm fine. It's not about that." She huffed. "Wait, I never called it a mountain lion. Why does everyone assume it was a mountain lion?"

"We're in California. It's more common than you'd think." Her father was so calm, he always was.

"Well maybe it was a wolf." She crossed her arms, admitting defeat at keeping her mouth shut. Her father laughed. Actually laughed. "Excuse me?"

"Wolves haven't been here for sixty or seventy years, Ashley." His chuckle deepened.

"Yeah, sure." She tried thinking back to the attack, to the predator who had played with her, but she was grasping at straws. It was a wolf, she had been sure… hadn't she?

"Why don't you relax and watch a movie with your mom and I? I'll get you an appointment with Dr.-"

"I don't need to see a freaking doctor! I'm not crazy, and I don't need meds!" She yelled, snapping. "I'm going to my room."

"Ashley…"

"No, Dad. I know you and mom have always thought that I'm partially insane, but I'm not. I'm fine. I don't need to see anyone. I don't need to talk to anyone. I just want to go to sleep." But truthfully, the last thing she wanted was sleep. She feared the nightmares would come back again. She also didn't really believe that she was fine, but she didn't want to see some random person who would confirm her insanity. The diagnosis would only make it real. She just had to believe she was fine, and then it'd be okay…

"We don't think you're insane." Her dad argued. "You've just always been so quiet and nervous, and we could try and fix that."

"I don't need fixing." She mumbled tearfully before turning around and climbing up the stairs to her room.

"Ash-"

"I'm going to call Bethany, and then I'm going to bed. Enjoy your movie."

When Ashley made it to her room, she collapsed on her bed. She pulled the blanket over her, she was so cold. She hated arguing with her dad, but she hated even more that he thought she needed to be fixed. There was nothing wrong with being extra prepared. There was nothing wrong with being ready for everything. And she had seen a wolf. She wouldn't let anyone else tell her differently. She shivered and finally looked at her window. It was pulled high and her white curtains flapped in the breeze. She hadn't opened it, she hadn't even touched the lock since she moved in. She stepped off the bed slowly, laying down her turquoise blanket. The floor creaked under her feet and she could hardly breathe. She shut the window harshly and looked outside. It was too dark to see far, but the night seemed silent and normal. The trees moved in the breeze, she could hear an owl in the distance, but there wasn't anything suspicious.

Even though all appeared to be right, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. She surveyed her room, nothing had been moved. She laid back down in her bed, but it wasn't comfortable. She felt wrong, like something had come into her territory and marked it as their own. She wrapped the blanket tightly around her and didn't even bother changing. Her bones rattled, but she didn't move. It took her hours to actually fall asleep, a fear was eating at her, growing worse as all the lights in her house turned off and she was left listening only to the sound of her own breaths.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Whoo, chapter four! Holla! Okay, so thanks to 'Guest' who reviewed the last chapter, I wish you had left your name! You rock! Ha :) There is way more 'Stashley' in this chapter, so enjoy! Review, follow, and favorite! Every review makes me want to post that much more ;) I hope Stiles lives up to your expectations. Without further ado, read on...**_

Ashley woke up in a cold sweat. Her hair was matted to her forehead, sticky and in tangles. Her skin felt burning hot, and yet, she had the chills. Her blanket was strewn across the bottom of her legs. She put a hand to her head and wiped some of the sweat off, not that it really helped. She had been dreaming, something about Derek and wolves, she couldn't remember exactly. It was obvious that it had been terrifying enough since her brain had made sure she wouldn't remember it. She kept quiet for a moment, unsure if she had made any noise during the dream. She waited until she was certain that her parents were still sleeping peacefully. Ashley groaned after a minute, her body felt like it had been by a train, and rolled over, staring at the clock beside her bed. It was only four in the morning. She sat up, weighing her options. She could shower, but then it might wake up her parents. She could try and go back to sleep, but what if she dreamed again? Her night terrors were occurring more frequently.

Ashley decided that she would much rather work on homework and take her mind off of things than just sit in silence until her alarm rang. She pulled out her chemistry book and went over the last chapter until her body decided she was too exhausted to continue. She laid back on her pillow and closed her eyes.

The second time Ashley woke up, it was bright outside and birds were chirping. That's how she woke up actually, a particularly cheerful bird right outside her window just would not shut up. She stretched, finally peaceful. She had slept well without any dreams. She heard a car in the driveway and strolled to her window. Her dad was leaving… Crap!

She leapt out of bed and ran into the shower. She was so, so late. So late. Again. She had never been so out of sorts before. She washed with the cold water, not waiting for it to heat up, and then dried off quickly. She combed her hair as she brushed her teeth and threw on an easy outfit. She was down the stairs in twenty minutes, her mom was looking over a magazine, a cheeky expression on her face.

"Mom! You're. Supposed. To. Wake. Me. Up." Ashley said in between breaths. She put her hand on the counter to stabilize herself.

"I knocked on your door three times. It's not my fault that you lock it when you sleep."

"I didn't hear anything." Ashley ignored the second comment, she always locked her door when it was closed.

"Not my problem." Her mom sang as she walked to the kitchen and poured out her cup of coffee.

"Can we go then?" Ashley shoved her chemistry book into her bag and zipped it up, pulling roughly when the zipper got stuck. She had never been such a spaz before.

"Fine." Her mom stepped into her shoes and grabbed her purse, Ashley followed behind her. "By the way, family night tonight."

"Mom." Ashley groaned. In Florida, family night had consisted of her parents fighting over a movie to watch and her dad burning whatever they were supposed to be having for dinner. Her mom would try to salvage it, but it would put her dad in such a bad mood that the night would be ruined.

"Don't worry, I'm cooking tonight." Her mom pulled out of the driveway, double checking that Ashley was wearing her seatbelt. "Besides, we haven't all been together for dinner in a while. You've been avoiding us since we moved here."

"We just went out to a lacrosse game!" Ashley argued while shaking her hair out. She didn't want to be caught with wet hair again, but it was taking forever to dry.

"And then you promptly avoided us for the next two days. The last time I saw you was breakfast yesterday, and you never even left the house."

"Mom-"

"Don't _Mom_ me, it's either family night tonight or we can have Dad pack you lunch for the next week."

"Fine." Ashley gave her mom a kiss on the cheek, taking in the smile on her face.

Ashley's mother was better dressed than her daughter was. She wore a pink knit sweater and charcoal grey skirt, her hair was pulled into an elegant twist and she had on her signature lucky necklace. It was a simply necklace, a small gold chain that connected to a small golden feather. Her mother had had it since she was born, and every time Ashley asked what it stood for, her mom would say it was just lucky. She never took it off, and it complimented her. She touched it then and said goodbye to her daughter.

Ashley was over an hour late and skipped her first two periods, she tried to talk to Mr. Allen about it, but he wouldn't write her a pass for sleeping in. She strolled guiltily into Chemistry. The bell had just rung and there were hardly any students in class. Mr. Harris stood at the front, looking out of the window. She didn't follow his gaze, she just sat down in the back and crossed her legs. Mr. Harris didn't address her.

When the students filed in, Ashley could hear them whispering. Something a bus and blood? She couldn't hear them that well and she wasn't actively trying to. She just wanted to get through the day without anything weird happening. Beacon Hills was slowly driving her crazy. She checked the clock, whoa was she late. She got out her pen and notebook as Stiles stumbled into the classroom after Scott. They sat together, never stopping their conversation, even when Mr. Harris sent a few obvious looks and comments their way.

It didn't surprise her when they were separated, what did surprise her was Stiles coming to sit beside her because of it. Ashley had picked a half-empty table for a reason, she liked being alone. She did not want twitchy boy infringing on her personal space.

"Hey." He nodded at her as he dropped his bag beside her. She had to physically stop herself from groaning.

"Stiles." She greeted.

"You wouldn't have happened to have done Friday's homework, would you?" He leaned back in his chair, not even bothering to take out his text book.

"Yes."

"You think, maybe, possibly, I could borrow it?"

Ashley sent him a look that could kill and Stiles just raised his hands in surrender. There was more whispering around her and she studied Stiles who just as nervous as always. Curiosity was eating at her.

"Fine." She said suddenly, making him jump a little. Mr. Harris droned on up front but she tuned him out. "I'll give you my homework if you tell me what happened."

"I, uh, don't know what you're talking about." He was lying, his eyes never meeting her face.

"Then you can take a zero for the assignment." Ashley shrugged innocently.

"You're evil." Stiles commented.

Ashley waved around the paper in front of him and he snatched it. "You didn't hear it from me."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"You didn't see the bus this morning?"

"I got here late."

"Short story, there was a lot of blood. The cops are taking care of it." He scribbled down Ashley's answers onto a semi-crumpled piece of paper.

"What?" She hissed. Blood? Bus? What the hell? Where was she going to school? "I still don't understand."

Just then a girl upfront, next to Scott, screamed out and pointed towards the window. The class rushed toward the glass, peering out. Ashley moved slowly, standing in the back. There was a man on a gurney, he appeared badly injured, and there was crime scene tape around the bus. The class fell silent at the sight of him and Ashley felt a chill. Just then, as the classroom was quiet and she could practically hear her classmate's heartbeats, the man opened his eyes and shouted. It wasn't so much a shout either as it was a terrified, blood curdling scream. Ashley jumped back, terrified. Her hand flew to her heart and she had to lean on a nearby desk to get her breath back. Her peers returned to their seats but, again, she walked slower than them.

She caught Stiles looking at Scott, both were wearing horrified expressions. She shook her head. No. No way was she going to get caught up in this mess. She bit her lip, it was gnawing at her. The mystery that she knew was there, waiting to be solved. Her fears wanted her to solve it, but equally wanted her to run away screaming. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay away from it, she just wanted things to go back to normal. She wanted to forget about all the life threatening drama. She wanted to be able to breathe normally again.

…

There were a few places that Ashley just did not liking going to. The dentist's was an obvious one, as was the doctor's, but more uncommon places included the movie theatre (sitting super close to a stranger was not her idea of a good time) and the beach (who knew what was in that water). Another unbearable place for Ashley was the high school cafeteria.

It wasn't just that she didn't have any real friends at Beacon Hills, it was that finding a place to sit and picking out the right lunch was so ridiculously nerve-racking that she considered it the equivalent to getting her feet eaten by piranha. In the first week she had been at school, she just grabbed her lunch and brought it to an empty classroom or the library. Some days she had skipped lunch entirely. But today, she was starving and had skipped breakfast. So she decided to go, sneaking quietly in the front door and going unnoticed. She twisted around the students mingling and fell into line with a sigh of relief. Ashley thought about where she'd eat, deciding the library would be the best place.

"Hey Ashley!" Ashley flinched before turning around. Allison was behind her looking as kind as ever. "Weird I only ever see you here."

"Allison, hi." Ashley pulled her hair out from behind her ear nervously.

"Actually, I think I saw you at the game on Saturday." She smiled brightly and Ashley tried to match it.

"Yeah, my parents wanted to go."

"My dad went too. He's, like, super overprotective."

Ashley moved forward in line, thinking of something to say. "We should trade parents for a day. Mine came because they think I don't get out enough." Did that make her sound like a loser? She frowned.

"That sounds amazing." Allison laughed.

"It's not. Trust me."

"Oh come on. When you get a boyfriend, you're going to be happy you have the parents you have."

Ashley caught on quickly. "Your dad wanted to go to the game because of Scott."

"Obvious, huh?"

"No. I'm just observant."

"Hey, you never told me why you moved to Beacon."

"Oh. My grandma died, she was the last thing tying us to Florida. And then my dad was offered a job here. It was like one big snowball effect, really."

"I'm sorry. Have you moved before?"

"Nope." Ashley replied. "My first time."

Allison leaned in closer. "It sucks, right?"

Ashley laughed genuinely. "It does. I thought I was just being a brat thinking that."

"No, trust me. We've moved a lot, my dad's a salesman. Every time it's hard. Making new friends, getting used to new places…"

"Yeah, I've never been good at making friends anyway." Ashley replied. She was surprised by her own honesty, but Allison was sweet and trustworthy.

"Consider that a problem of your past now. You can eat with me and I'll introduce you to some of my friends."

Ashley peered over to where Allison sat last time they had met. "I don't think Lydia and Jackson are my kind of people."

"Come on. Lydia's really nice once you get to know her."

Ashley and Allison paid for their meals then and Ashley was at a loss for what to do. She felt Allison grab her arm and suddenly she was dragged forward. Allison paused by her usual table before continuing to walk. Ashley was plopped down in a chair across from Stiles as Allison kissed Scott briefly on the lips. Her surprise didn't stop there as Lydia and her friends followed. Ashley had seen the people around school but had never spoken to them before. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

A guy who sat down next to her, with longer brown hair and a chubby face, gave Ashley the once over. Ashley bit her lip and glanced down at her food. She looked up and noticed Stiles was staring at her, he was in the middle of peeling an orange.

"What are you doing here?" He looked between her and Lydia, who hadn't acknowledged either one of them.

"You've met?" Allison smiled.

"He copied my homework today." Ashley muttered as if it was a reasonable explanation. She was still feeling awkward and depressed after the events of the morning.

"_What_ is on your cheek?" Lydia exclaimed loudly. Ashley reached up and touched the scratch that was healing after about a week.

"A, uh, branch attacked me on my first day in town." Ashley said, with a very sad attempt at humor. She hated being put on the spot.

Lydia frowned. "You should try concealer."

"I think she's cute as is." The guy sitting next to Ashley draped an arm over her chair. She tried to shrug away from him.

"Whatever." Lydia stabbed a piece of lettuce.

Jackson walked toward the table, causing Stiles to frown. Jackson kicked the back of the touchy feely guy's chair and demanded he get up. He looked at Ashley first and then complained. Ashley tuned out and pushed her chair closer to Allison. As Jackson sat down, the topic turned quickly to the bus attack. Ashley's interest was definitely piqued.

"You really think that was an animal attack?" She asked loudly.

Lydia and Jackson ignored her, but Allison went on to explain. "Didn't you see the bus outside this morning? It was awful, I don't think a person could've done that."

Jackson's friend joined in, Danny or something. "You think it was a cougar?"

"I heard mountain lion." Jackson added.

Lydia rolled her eyes and explained that they were the same thing. Ashley stared at her plate. She had tried to push it from her mind, but of course it was animal attack, and that could have been her. It hit her like a two-ton bus, that could have happened to her. She could have been mauled. She glanced up and noticed Stiles was staring at her and Scott was staring at his food.

"What's wrong with you?" Lydia asked Ashley. Ashley opened her mouth a few times, awkwardly, before answering.

"On my first night, I was lost in the woods and I was almost… there was an animal and it was really close to… attacking me."

"No way, you were okay though?" Allison's eyes pulled together, concern etched on her face. The others repeated the same things, "Oh my god." "What happened?"

"Was this when you were 'attacked by a stick'?" Lydia flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

"Um yeah…" Ashley looked down again and picked at her fingernails. "I was just being stupid and eventually got lost, and then next thing I knew I looked up and there was a…" Ashley paused, she didn't want to say what she actually thought it was. "Well, I think it was a mountain lion."

"You could have died." Allison muttered, her eyes were wide.

Suddenly, Stiles took out his phone and played the recent news report about the incident. The man was in critical condition at the hospital. She didn't recognize him or his name, but that didn't make the situation any less depressing.

"That's my old bus driver." Scott said, Allison immediately comforted him.

There were other exclamations, but Ashley tuned out. If Stiles hadn't been there, she could have died. Really died. All that blood that was smeared on the bus could have been hers. She looked up. He was leaning back in his chair, glancing around the table, stopping on Lydia's face a second longer than would have been considered normal.

They watched the news clip again, and Ashley could feel the two bites she had taken coming back up. There were claw marks on the bus and blood was smeared everywhere. The man looked so happy too, not a 'tweaker' like Jackson had commented earlier. She tried to swallow her nerves, but it didn't work. She was mortified. She could only picture herself in the bus driver's position. Her being attacked, mauled viciously, and leaving only pieces of her behind for people to find.

She stood up from the table, her chair scraping against the floor harshly. The people around her turned to stare, but Ashley didn't care. Her fingers were tingling and her whole body felt like it was on vibrate. Her throat was closing up, her breathing becoming fast and harsh. She made it out of the cafeteria and into the empty hallway. She leaned against a wall and sucked in air. It wasn't making its way fast enough to her lungs so she sunk to the floor. The image in her mind, of her body torn apart, wouldn't leave. She felt like she was having a night terror in the daytime, her eyes closed involuntarily.

"You should put your head between your knees. It's supposed to help."

Ashley lifted her head up weakly, leaning against the wall again, and opened her eyes. Stiles was kneeling next to her. She noticed he had ditched the blazer had worn the earlier week. He was in a checkered shirt and a hoodie, it looked more natural, more comfortable. He looked worried. For once he wasn't antsy, he was just there.

"What are you doing here?" Ashley asked, curling her hands into fists to fight the electric shocks and tingles that were only just starting to subside.

"I know the signs of a panic attack when I see one." He explained, coming to a full sit on the floor beside her.

Ashley looked at him in confusion before responding. "It wasn't a panic attack. I'm just freaked out."

"You're deathly pale and shaking. So either you've got the first few symptoms of a zombie virus, or you're having a panic attack."

"Did you come to gloat or something?" Ashley played with the ends of her hair as she began to feel normal.

"No!" Stiles said defensively, Ashley raised an eyebrow. "No. I wanted to see if you were okay. I know how bad they can be-"

"You've gotten panic attacks before?" Ashley asked.

"I used to, a while ago." Stiles brought his knees to his chest.

"Sorry."

"It's cool."

Ashley glanced down at her feet and bit her lip. "Stiles?" She could feel him looking at her with his deep brown eyes, but she couldn't turn her head to meet them. "I just wanted to say… thank you. For helping me. I'm sorry I've been giving you a hard time for it." There was a silent pause before he spoke.

"Does this mean you're going to agree to call me your hero? I'd be totally okay with that, might help my street cred with the ladies."

Ashley turned, Stiles was smiling widely. She smacked him lightly across the chest. "Shut up." She grinned.

"Come on, at least tell everyone I saved you."

Ashley got up off the floor, ignoring him for the most part.

"Please?" He continued. "It wouldn't even be a lie."

Ashley dusted herself off and looked back. "Thanks, Stiles." She grinned and moved around him, going to her locker to collect her things.

Yes, there was a man on life support in the hospital, and yes, that could've been her. But it felt good to laugh again. She was surprised that it was Stiles who had calmed her down and gotten her to laugh, but then, she was beginning to see there was more to him than she had originally thought.

"What happened to you at lunch today?" Allison asked. She had stopped by Ashley's locker at the end of school.

"Sorry, I wasn't feeling well." Ashley slid her unneeded materials into her locker and closed it.

Allison gave her an apologetic look. "You feel better now?"

"Yeah."

"Good, want to come bowling tomorrow night?" Allison asked hopefully.

"What's the catch?" Ashley wondered.

"Scott will be there."

"That's a no." Ashley answered.

"You didn't let me finish. Scott will be there, and so will Lydia and Jackson. I need a buffer, badly."

"I'm pretty sure Lydia would kill me if I came. Jackson too."

"Ashley, please, I'm begging you. I'll even ask Stiles if he'll come too so you won't be a fifth wheel."

"Still no, Allison." Ashley shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"Ugh. It's fine." Allison wrinkled her nose, deep in thought. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Ashley added with a smile. Allison returned it and met Scott at the doors. Ashley made her way to her mother's car, waving to Stiles before she left. He returned the wave, his eyes wide.

Ashley had successfully pushed thoughts of the bus incident out of her mind, and maybe things at Beacon Hills wouldn't be that bad.

Her night was horrible. Okay, so it wasn't totally awful, just bad, but still. Her parents had taken her to the movies in the evening, she was even allowed to pick the movie but then something happened. Something every person probably fears. In the dark movie theater, watching an action adventure movie about robots or aliens or something, her parents started… making out. Like full on kissing and giggling and hand holding. In all her years, Ashley had never seen them so affectionate. Her dad was being super nice and her mother wasn't disagreeing with anything he said. Even when he suggested they get takeout from an Italian place in town, her mom agreed. She had been marinating steaks for the past twelve hours, but she didn't even put up a fight. Ashley felt like she was living in some weird sit-com.

"Brad, stop." Her mother giggled, shoving her husband playfully. "I have to go get dinner."

"Alright, alright."

Ashley watched as they took forever to say goodbye, even though her mom was leaving for like ten minutes tops. She was to the point of almost gagging when she couldn't take it anymore.

"I'll get it!" She cried out.

"You sure?" Her parents asked.

"Yes, dear god, yes." She pushed her hair behind one shoulder and grabbed her father's wallet. "I'll be back in five."

She walked up to the small restaurant, maneuvering carefully around a police car. The door dinged as she walked in and she self-consciously tugged at her blonde locks.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up an order of food." Ashley said to the hostess.

"Name?" The older girl, about twenty five if Ashley had to guess, sounded bored.

"Booker."

"It'll be about five minutes." She pointed to a few chairs by the door so Ashley took a seat.

She nervously fiddled with her pink hoodie for a few moments, tugging on the strings and tying it into a knot. Holy crap was she spastic recently. She dropped the strings and looked up.

"Ashley?" Stiles was in front of her, wearing the same clothes from earlier and looking just as rumpled as always.

"Stiles. What are you doing here?" And then Ashley looked around. "Wait, don't answer that. That was a stupid question. You were eating."

"Ding dong, we have a winner." He said sarcastically.

Ashley fought an eye roll as Sheriff Stilinski came up behind Stiles. He smiled widely, moving a doggie bag from his right hand to his left so he could shake her hand. Ashley returned the smile.

"Sheriff Stilinski, how are you?" She asked politely. She did not miss Stiles' eyes roll up towards the ceiling, but she ignored it anyway.

"I'm doing well, Ashley. How are you? Staying out of the woods I hope."

"Trying my best."

"Yeah, yeah. We get it, it's great seeing one another and everything is hunky-dory and you look forward to seeing each other again. Can we go home now?"

Ashley and the sheriff exchanged a look. "What's wrong with you?" She raised an eyebrow.

"He's mad I didn't take him on duty with me today." Stiles' dad shrugged as the hostess came out carrying Ashley's dinner.

She took the credit card Ashley was holding and shoved a large pizza box and two big bags into her hands. She wobbled slightly before the sheriff grabbed the pizza box and handed it to Stiles.

"He's more than happy to help."

"Dad, seriously, I am practically an adult now, you can't force me to-"

"Thanks." Ashley interrupted him.

The hostess came back and Ashley returned the card to her father's wallet. She sauntered away immediately and Ashley was left standing awkwardly with the Stilinskis.

"We'll help you carry this to your car." The sheriff pushed his son forward and Stiles went in a huff.

To say Ashley's parents were delighted at the sight of Stiles would be an understatement. Her mother got out of the car as soon as she saw that Ashley wasn't alone, and greeted both Stiles and his father with warm, welcoming hugs.

"Sheriff Stilinski! And you must be one of the boys Ashley was telling us about." Her mother's smile stretched across her entire face. Ashley stared at the car longingly, it would have been perfect to smash her head against. "Scott or… what was the other name…"

"I'm Stiles." He introduced himself while giving Ashley a curious glance.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Sheriff. And to meet you, Stiles." Her mother's mouth continued to open, and Ashley knew something even more embarrassing was going to come pouring out. "I've got to be honest, it's surprising to meet one of Ashley's friends in the flesh. She's always been a bit of a loner-"

"Mom!" Ashley shouted, placing the bags of food on the hood of their car and taking the pizza box from Stiles. "They don't need to hear my life story, I'm sure they have places to be."

"Right." Her mom glanced around as Stiles awkwardly kicked a rock. Ashley had never seen him so quiet before. "Would you two maybe want to join us for dinner? Lord knows we've got enough to feed a small army."

"I appreciate it Jill, but we've just eaten."

"Of course." Her mother looked to the ground, which meant she was thinking, and only bad, bad things came from that.

Ashley's father got out of the car and greeted the men, giving Stiles a large clap on the back. "Why don't you come over tomorrow night?"

"That's right! I have steaks marinating at home and there will be plenty of food."

"We couldn't." The sheriff argued politely.

"Consider it a thank-you for finding Ashley."

Ashley and Stiles exchanged an exasperated look. She moved closer to him. "My mom is pretty persistent. If you've got any excuses, come up with them now."

"I don't understand how you're so shy if she's your mother. Were you adopted?"

"That'd actually make sense."

"What if I said my dad's really picky and can't eat a lot due to his health?"

"Won't work." Ashley whispered back. "If my dad was cooking, I'd say you'd be off the hook. But my mom's actually a really good cook, and I can't remember the last time she served something with trans-fat."

"Sounds great, tomorrow at eight then." Sheriff Stilinski shook Ashley's father's hand and waved to her mother.

"Oh my god." Ashley and Stiles groaned in unison.

One look at her mother and Ashley knew what the woman was thinking. It was the first time she had seen Ashley talk to a boy, she was probably planning their wedding already. Why couldn't her parents be more reserved and, you know, less embarrassing? Stiles gave Ashley a nod goodbye as they left and Ashley flopped into the backseat.

"He's cute." Her mom cheered before she had even closed the door.

"If you say anything else, I will move out."

"His hair's a little short." Her dad added with a smile as he started the engine.

Ashley let out a grunt and sunk lower into her seat. She had been on roller coasters more stable than her day had been. She closed her eyes and prayed that the next day would pass by quickly and painlessly.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hey! I am so sorry, guys. I know I haven't uploaded in forever. College started and I got wrapped up in trying to get all my work done. My lit class has a paper due every week, every week- yeesh. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this installment. Thanks for the sweet reviews guys, it makes everything worth it! So you know what to do. ;)**_

Ashley spent most of the next day battling nerves in her stomach and anxious thoughts in her head. She was nervous for Stiles to come over for dinner, but more than that, she was nervous that someone would be in her personal space. When her old friend Bethany came over, things were simple. Bethany was quiet and shy too, she liked to read and paint, and her parents never felt the need to interrupt them or tease them. Ashley had a feeling deep in her gut that her mother would never let this go, probably not even on her death bed. Jill was notorious for her stubborn personality, which, okay, Ashley totally inherited. But Jill was also girly, insanely girly, and Ashley couldn't even count how many times she had tried to set Ashley up with one of her friend's kids. And now she was having a boy over.

Queasiness rocked through Ashley's stomach and she put her head in her hand, closing her eyes. She was sitting in English trying to pay attention, but seriously, there were other things on her mind. She kept clicking the top of her pen and her foot was shaking a mile a minute. She had never been this hyper before.

She never had to worry about what to wear when Bethany came over, she never had to think about hairstyles or cleaning her bedroom. Not that Stiles was going to be in her bedroom… She certainly didn't know how to act around his dad. It wasn't like they were dating or anything, so why did the dinner have to seem so formal? Were her parents going out of their way to screw her?

She groaned and then glanced up, yup, she had definitely groaned out loud. Jackson, who sat four seats across from her, gave her one of those mean sneers and head shakes and went back to texting. She slid down in her seat and pulled her hair over her shoulders. Five hours and then she'd have to make conversation with near-strangers. Five hours and they'd be in her house, watching her eat, and talking to her mom and dad. God knows what Brad would do, her dad was a fairly normal guy, but when he and Jill were together, he usually went along with her antics.

Ashley watched the clock tick. She hadn't even spoken to Stiles since yesterday, though, fair enough, she did hide out at lunch and in Chemistry she made sure to sit next to some girl so he wouldn't have an opportunity to sit by her- not that he wanted to. She wanted to yell, scream, anything.

This was why Ashley didn't have friends, why she went her whole life avoiding people at all costs. She wasn't good at this, didn't know how not to overreact. Her mind wouldn't stop, it just kept going and going, playing all the horrible ways that tonight's dinner could be screwed up.

…..

Ashley took the stairs two by two when she got home. Her dad wasn't home yet, but her mother was waiting in the kitchen, prepping dinner that was still hours away.

"Hi Ash." Her mother waved a sharp kitchen knife.

"Can't talk. Have to shower, and clean, and find something to wear…" Ashley hustled the rest of the way to the bathroom.

"You should wear light blue, it brings out your eyes!" Her mother called up to her.

"Shut up, mom." She yelled back.

She took forty five minutes in the shower. She shaved, washed her hair about three times, and then just stood under the water and let it cascade down her body. It didn't help her calm down, but it did feel good. Her stomach was in knots. She didn't want Stiles in her personal bubble. She didn't want him bringing whatever secrets he was hiding into her house.

She spent another forty minutes on her hair, straightening it to the point that it was three inches longer than normal. It hung just above her chest and the bangs she had been growing out since sixth grade finally fell past her chin.

She tore through her closet as she heard her clambering about still in the kitchen. Why did she feel like she was attending a dinner party? It was just dinner at her house… with another kid… and his dad… and her parents. She stopped herself from ramming her head into the wall and instead picked out a pair of shorts and top. She held it up to her mirror. Was it too casual? How did girls usually pick out clothes? She wanted to pull her hair out strand by strand, it would've been less painful.

"MOM!" She yelled frantically as the clock hit 7:30.

She could hear her mom dashing up the stairs, Ashley never called for help. Ashley threw the door open and her mom stopped by the frame to catch her breath.

"Yes darling?"

"I don't know what to wear."

Jill smiled wide. "Do you like this boy, Ashley? I've never seen you so nervous before."

"I don't like Stiles. He's… weird. I just, I've never had someone over before."

"Bethany-"

"Bethany was more like a sister." How did she tell her mother that her and Stiles weren't even technically friends. Sure, he had helped her get through a 'panic attack', but that didn't make them BFFs or anything…

"Okay, take a deep breath. You're going to have an aneurysm." Her mom stepped in the room and went to the closet. She riffled through the clothes as Ashley sat on the bed. "Now, what are you worried about? Besides clothes."

"That you're going to embarrass me…" Ashley looked down. "That I'm going to embarrass me, and either way I'll end up the laughing stock of Beacon Hills. We'll be forced to move back to Sarasota and Bethany will have probably made a new friend already, and I'll be forced to spend all my weekends and free time with you and dad until you go into a nursing home and then I'll be completely alone and I'll obviously have to buy a cat, even though I'm pretty sure I'm still allergic and-"

"Ashley! Ash. Calm down." Her mom was holding two hangers. "Put these on and, for heaven's sake, shut your mind up for two minutes."

"I'll try." Ashley mumbled, taking the clothes.

She changed in the bathroom so that her mother could clean up the mess she had made of her closet. Somehow she ended up in a baby blue knit sweater that fell a few inches above her knees and black tights. It felt fancy, too fancy, but she didn't have the energy to change again. Plus, she couldn't get her hands to stop shaking. Whatever happened, she would not end up alone with five cats, she refused to let that happen.

She came out of the bathroom slowly. "Isn't this too much?"

"No! You look beautiful." Her mom grinned. She went to unclasp her necklace. "You should wear this too."

"No way, I'm not taking your lucky necklace."

"Ash-"

"Save it for a bigger occasion. This is just dinner." Ashley shrugged.

"Alright. But you do look lovely."

Her father came home then and agreed with Jill on how Ashley looked. Ashley blushed and decided she would do homework until their guests arrived. Instead she ended up lying in bed, trying to stop herself from vomiting everywhere. She counted sheep in her head until she lost count, she tried to figure out Algebraic equations, she went through the lyrics of her favorites songs, until the doorbell rang. Her eyes popped open and she felt her entire body heat up.

She paused at the mirror before she went down stairs. Her reflection was beet red, but other than that, she looked…pretty. "I can do this. It'll be fine." She told herself. But what she was thinking was that she could probably get her mom to confiscate Stiles' phone so he couldn't take any embarrassing photos or videos of her.

"Ashley!" Her mother called.

"Coming." She yelled back.

She braced herself by grabbing the hand of the stairwell. She landed on the first floor with an ungraceful thud. Stiles and the sheriff were making their way to the dining room when they heard her. They both turned at the same time, and in that moment, Ashley could see that they were indeed father and son.

Stiles was wearing a graphic t-shirt under a plaid shirt and his father was still wearing his uniform. She felt overdressed.

"Hey." She waved awkwardly. How did people act in this situation?

"Good to see you again. It was so nice of your mother to set all this up." Sheriff Stilinski smiled.

"Yeah." Ashley shuffled to the dining room behind them.

Her parents set the table. Her father was at the head, her mother to his right and Ashley to his left. Next to her mom was the sheriff and next to Ashley was Stiles. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Dig in." Her mom exclaimed and served steaks, couscous, asparagus, and some sort of melon salad to everyone.

"This is sufficiently awkward." Stiles said in a low voice so that only Ashley could hear. She let out a sigh of relief.

"If I know my mother, it will only get more awkward from here."

"Oh, you should have seen Ashley earlier," her mother started, "she was so nervous. It was adorable." Her mother winked at her and Ashley wished that she could just shrivel up and die.

Ashley smacked her fork against her steak, she had lost her appetite about the same time they had made dinner plans.

"Stiles was the same way. He must've asked me about three different plaid shirts."

Stiles mimicked Ashley and they groaned in unison. Their parents laughed. They continued to talk but Ashley decided she was done listening.

"Are they arranging our marriage now or are they past that and picking the baby names?"

Stiles started, his knee knocking loudly against the wooden table. "Wh-what?"

"Relax, I'm just kidding." Ashley pushed around a piece of watermelon, talking to her plate rather than looking at him.

"Right." Stiles scooted back up in his chair slightly.

"That poor man, he has a family and everything." Ashley's mother sighed and Ashley tuned into their conversation.

"He's doing really well though, the doctor's expect him to make a full recovery." The sheriff added.

"Are you talking about the animal attack?" Ashley asked.

"We were." Her father shut down the conversation.

Ashley grumbled and cut a tiny piece of steak, chewing it slowly as the adults continued to discuss trivial matters such as the weather and sports. Stiles wasn't taking such dainty bites of his food, he was shoveling it in quickly, but he too seemed to ignore the adults. Eventually, the parents caught on to their children's silence. Ashley could feel her heat cheeks as soon as they turned their eyes on her.

"How did you like Florida?" Sheriff Stilinski asked kindly.

"It was home… I mean, it was good." Ashley bit the inside of her cheek until she felt herself draw blood. She was such a stupid freaking dork. She would've rather lit herself on fire than have kept up a conversation.

"I've heard it's the east coast California."

"Well, I was never attacked by any mountain lions in Florida." Ashley shrugged and stared hard at her plate. Possibly, the floor might swallow her up. She'd like that.

"Ashley." Her mother scolded and her father cleared his throat.

She heard the clatter of silverware and looked up, the adults were done eating, Stiles was checking his phone under the table.

"Honey, I think California's been great for you." Her mother folded her hands and grinned.

Ashley gave her a look. "I was almost attacked. My. First. Night.

"And how lucky Sheriff Stilinski saved you."

Ashley looked at Stiles who was shaking his leg under the table. She didn't think it was possible that he could be so quiet.

"Do you two have any classes together?"

"Chemistry. And lunch, if that counts." Ashley answered.

"Lunch is Stiles' favorite class." His dad chuckled.

Ashley forced a laugh, Stiles rolled his eyes, and her parents stood, clearing the table. Stiles jumped to his feet.

"Time to go?" He was eager.

"Oh, please, I've got a pie in the oven."

Stiles looked to his father and then back to Ashley's mom. "What kind?"

"Does it matter?" Ashley mumbled.

"Yes."

"Apple pie, and I made some homemade vanilla ice cream while you all were at school." Jill smiled proudly at her daughter.

"We can stay." Sheriff Stilinski decided.

Ashley's father herded them into the living room and put on some sporting event. Ashley didn't care, she just sat at the end of one couch and stared at the ends of her sweater. She had gotten semi-dressed up for an awkward meal, what did that say about her? Would Stiles spread to the school how lame she was? She wasn't sure he had that kind of pull over the student body, but Lydia did and if she heard…

"So you play lacrosse, Stiles?" Her dad asked kindly.

"Uh, yeah. I'm on the team, I don't really play though."

"Seems like a fun sport. We didn't really have it when I was in school."

"He just needs a little more practice." The sheriff said supportively.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh my god. Mom." Ashley nearly fell of the couch.

"What? It's just a question."

"Oh, uh, no."

She could tell Stiles wanted to say more, or would've said more had they been in front of younger people, but what did he have to prove to her parents? She flinched as the tension grew. The oven timer ticked away.

"Why don't you both go hang out in your room?" Ashley's mom suggested.

Ashley looked at Stiles and back at her mom, she knew panic was written clearly on her face. "Wha-what?"

Stiles was also surprised, and a stuttering mess. The parents all thought this was hilarious and waved them off. At least he was as awkward as she was. It made the embarrassment sting a little less. She stalked off and figured he'd follow. She took the stairs quickly and shoved her door open before collapsing on her bed.

"Nice room." Stiles stood in the doorway as Ashley leaned back on her elbows.

"Thanks." She watched him for a moment. "You're not a vampire, are you?"

"Wh- no."

"Do I need to invite you in?"

"No. Shut up." Stiles marched inside and then stood awkwardly again.

"You can sit wherever." Ashley was as nervous as he appeared to be, she was just trying really hard not to show it. In reality, she had never been alone with a boy before. She had never even had a male who was not her father in her room.

"Right." Stiles sat at her desk in a big, roll-y chair and attempted to lean back like he always did, her chair didn't bend though and he almost fell backwards. He righted himself and coughed.

Ashley stared around the room, trying to find something to say. But what was there? "I take it you didn't go bowling with Scott and Allison?"

"Do you know everything?"

Ashley bit back a smile. "Allison told me yesterday."

"No, I didn't go, hence why I'm here." He waved his hands around. "Crashing a double date isn't exactly my idea of fun."

Ashley played with the ends of her hair. "You would've been with Lydia."

"Yeah and Jackson which… Hold on. Who said anything about Lydia?"

"I'm not blind or stupid."

"How do you do that?" He asked sincerely, spinning around in her chair a few times.

"Do what?"

"Figure everything out."

"I just…" Ashley thought hard, how did she do it? "observe."

"Observe… So you basically stalk people and watch them?"

Ashley tossed a pillow at his head and laid back on her bed. "I watch them, I do not stalk anyone."

"Okay, well, teach me."

"Teach you?" Ashley repeated.

"You have something better planned? Want to go back downstairs?"

Ashley shivered at the thought. "Alright… you just… pay attention. You look around and put two and two together. It isn't hard."

"Wow, you're a real Mr. Miyagi." He muttered sarcastically. Ashley rolled her eyes.

Stiles stood up then, she watched him as he looked around her room. She felt herself getting warm and knew her stupid neck was turning red. What the heck was he doing? Was he looking for something to embarrass her with? Was he going to make fun of her small beanie baby collection that she kept on a shelf above her bed?

"You, Ashley Booker who just moved here from Florida sort of unwillingly and who almost died had it not been for me, are a nerd."

"Excuse me?" She sat up and crossed her legs.

"I'm not done. You're a book worm. You're either way too close to your family or they're your only friends. You're obsessed with old rock music, which is kinda cool. And you're a lesbian." Ashley choked. "Am I right?"

She coughed some more until her airways cleared. "I'm not a lesbian."

"But you have one picture with someone who isn't old. And it's a girl. And your arms around her." Stiles pointed to the picture on her desk.

"That's my friend, Bethany. Friend. Not girlfriend." Ashley closed her eyes.

"Oh. But the other stuff?"

"Right, I guess." She mumbled. She felt weird that he knew that much about her already. Though most of it was obvious. She had a few Metallica and AC/DC posters up on her walls and her book shelf was pretty crowded. She had some old records of her father's 80s music stash under her desk, and the only other decorations she had around her room were pictures.

"Wow, this is way too easy. I gave you too much credit before."

"Hey," she said suddenly remembering something that had been on her mind earlier, "did your dad ever find the animal that… you know."

Stiles froze. "No."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"No reason."

"Liar."

"Seriously, Stiles? What are you, in second grade?"

"Mentally, yeah."

"I was just hoping they caught it, that's all." She didn't tell him that she also hoped when they caught it that it was a mountain lion, but she still had this nagging suspicion that it wouldn't be.

"Stiles! We need to go!" The sheriff shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Ashley and Stiles exchanged a confused look. They both took down the steps.

"We haven't had dessert."

"I know, but I'm always on duty."

"Wait, what happened? Did something else happen?" Stiles asked.

Ashley's parents shared a worried glance and Ashley knew that they had found out already.

"I'm only telling you because it will probably be on the news tomorrow, but he died."

"Who died?" Ashley asked and the sheriff turned to her. She knew who it was before he even said anything.

"The bus driver."

"Yeah." The sheriff pulled his coat back on. "I have to go check things out and get Stiles home. It's late anyway."

"Yes, of course. Please, be safe." Ashley's mom said as she unlocked the door.

Ashley saw Stiles glance down at his phone a few times but didn't ask. Whatever they had shared in the bedroom, which was barely anything anyway, was gone now. She gave a small wave as they left and Stiles didn't even look back at her. As the door slammed shut the oven timer went off and Ashley jumped. She wasn't able to regain her composure before her parents pulled her into a tight embrace.

"We're so glad nothing happened to you."

"We love you so much."

Ashley heard the words but didn't feel them. She was becoming numb. Dead. The man was dead. But he was recovering, they had just talked about it! Her mind was trying to solve a puzzle she didn't even understand, so she just stood there and let her parents hug her. She was no longer stuck on the "what if it had been her" thought, she was now worried that whatever the thing was that killed the man was still out there. What if she happened upon it again?


End file.
